Statue vandalism continues: Ambedkar's statue damaged in UP
Lucknow: After vandalizing two statues of Lenin in Tripura, a statue of Periyar in Tamil Nadu; a statue of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar vandalized in Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
The incident took place in Khurd village early in the morning and was noticed by villagers and others. Senior district officials rushed to the spot and security forces were deployed in large numbers.
Dalit organizations staged a protest and blocked the roads in Uttar Pradesh.
Police have lodged an FIR against unidentified miscreants.
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Builder-influencer held with cache of weapons in Thane district
Thane (PTI): A 55-year-old builder and social media influencer has been arrested for alleged possession of a cache of weapons in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday.
The accused, Surendra Panduranga Patil, who has more than three lakh followers on Instagram, was arrested on Saturday night, just a week after being released on bail in a separate case, an official said.
"Acting on a tip-off, our team searched Patil's bungalow in the Dawdi area of Dombivli late on Saturday night. We recovered a cache of weapons hidden behind a fake panel of a newly installed shoe rack that did not match the house's interior," the official from the Crime Branch said.
Five country-made pistols and revolvers, some engraved with 'Made in USA,' and two air guns, were seized, along with 371 cartridges, 167 air gun pellets, a sword, a button knife, a sharp-edged weapon, and two steel rods, he said, adding that the seized items were worth Rs 10 lakh.
"The quantity of ammunition suggests the stockpile was fully operational. While Patil claims the weapons were mere 'props' for his gangster-themed social media videos, we are investigating if he was preparing a 'mini-army' or supplying arms to local criminals," the official said.
Patil, a history-sheeter, now faces fresh charges under the Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act.
